Comment by impendia | Hacker News Reader

Comment by impendia | Hacker News Reader

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I've traveled extensively in Japan and very highly recommend it.

I especially recommend a long walk in rural or small-town Japan. Perhaps the best one-day option is the Yamanobe Road

https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/kansai/nara/the-yam...

which is breathtaking. You pass ancient tombs, temples, and shrines -- you will have beautiful mountains to your east and even more beautiful small towns to your west. If you've seen My Neighbor Totoro, imagine that it was brought to life and you got to spend all day walking through it. It's fairly easy to get to from Nara, Osaka, or Kyoto.

If you have more time, the classic long-distance walk in Japan is the Henro-michi in Shikoku, aka the Shikoku pilgrimage.

https://shikoku-tourism.com/en/shikoku-henro/shikoku-henro

I did it on foot over 58 days, and it was absolutely the experience of a lifetime. Even if you don't have two months, just a few days on the trail will showcase rural Japan at its most beautiful, and the Japanese people at their friendliest and most welcoming.

Oh -- and I've driven in Japan, but you'll probably want to get around by train instead, the mass transit is the best in the world.

Yeah, there really isn't a good reason to drive unless you really want to go somewhere that doesn't have a train station. There are not all too many such places.

I'd also add a suggestion of renting a bike and riding the shimanamikaido from Hiroshima to get to Shikoku. You can also take a ferry and then bike back one-way from Shikoku to Hiroshima if you want. When I did it (2010) they only had "real" road bikes available from the Shikoku side for some reason, so when I showed up on the Honshu side I settled for a hybrid-ish mama-chari. I happened to have good weather (some time in July), made short stops at random shops on the islands along the way, and stayed a business hotel in Imabari for a couple of days, then rode back. https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3478.html

That trip started with attempting to walk to Nagoya to Osaka, but I only made it 50 miles before giving up and taking the train the rest of the way, because I tried to save some money and bought junk shoes that wrecked my feet. This was of course when the exchange rate was 78 yen per dollar, rather than 150 ;) That was really frustrating since it was only a few months after I ran the Tokyo Marathon, and I figured I could handle any kind of foot pain by then. Nope, don't compromise on shoes when you're thinking about trying to walk 30 miles a day.

Thanks for sharing. I did (hitchhiking/walking/bus) part of the Kumanokodo over a couple of weeks back in uni. Truly awesome experiences. Mt Koya (easily accessable by public transport from Osaka/Kyoto) is a real power spot for me.

https://www.japan.travel/en/spot/979/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_K%C5%8Dya

Those two rural/small town walks you mentioned: can they be accessed without driving?

Yes. The Yamanobe Road is easier to get to, the endpoints are each close to train stations (Tenri on the north end, Sakurai on the south). These are well connected to Nara and Osaka. Alternatively, you can start at Sakurai and walk all the way north to Nara (about 30 km).

The henro-michi is harder to get to, because Shikoku in general is harder to get to. If coming from Kobe or Osaka, you'll probably want to take a bus to Naruto, Tokushima, or Takamatsu. (Naruto if you're starting from the beginning.) A bit more of a schlep, but still not bad.

If doing these walks, then not driving is a big advantage -- because you don't have to worry about where you parked your car! In particular, you don't need to end at the same place you began.

If anyone here decides to do henro, message me as we live on the path (Tokushima).

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